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Re: Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

01-30-2009, 02:32 PM

I am having an issue with my new pizza oven which is in my kitchen. After I fire it the next day I get a lot of black soot from the flue that falls all over the floor. What can be done for this. It is really a mess the next day. When I put a new log on the fire (I am using very seasoned hard wood) I get smoke back into the room. My builder actually installed a exast fan on the end of the flue outside which I keep on high. Also my oven does not get totally white inside after 2 hours of heating. The pizza are cooking great though.

Our oven is in the kitchen, too. Have you tried cracking a window open when you're firing the oven? I've found that helps get the draft going to carry the smoke out the chimney. If I don't open a window we'll sometimes get smoke back into the room.

Comment

Wow: an exhaust fan on high and you still get smoke in the house? You must have a air balance problem, a lack of combustion air. Modern houses are sometimes too tightly sealed to use open fireplaces like a WFO, and need an additional air intake. As Tschaefges says, an open window can test this theory, if that solves the problem you need an air intake. Rumford.com suggests putting the air intake behind the refrigerator, that way you don't have light leaks, and the air is pre-heated by the refrigerator coils to avoid drafts. Like your flue, your air intake should be able to be closed, to avoid loosing your indoor heat when you aren't firing your oven.

Comment

Also my oven does not get totally white inside after 2 hours of heating. The pizza are cooking great though.

Hope you can help

Jeanne

Hi Jeanne,

How many times have you fired your oven?

It takes awhile to 'season' the masonry; ie. drive the moisture from the masonry. If the masonry is still new, it is really difficult to get the oven white hot.

And if you have been using the oven a bunch, then you need to build a bigger fire, get more air moving through the oven. You should be able to get the brick to turn white, indicating they are appropriately hot.

Comment

After Ifire my oven the next morning I hav a ton of black soot on my floor that come from the flue. what can be done.

Is it possible for you to set the door (if you have one) at the entry? You still have to deal with the mess but it's not on your floor. I would guess that you have a problem drafting (what David [Dmun]alluded to). I do get soot in my flue but it never comes back down (unless water is in the equation). At the end of the day, I would say you have a drafting issue. Follow Davids [dmun]advice and let us know what the result is.

Comment

The exhaust fan can run until the cows come home but if there's not enough air able to flow through, it won't work. Like when you put your hand over the vacuum cleaner nozzle. It's still sucking, but nothing's coming through. I think Dmun's right. Open a window to see if it improves your draft. A fireplace or oven needs LOTS of air, far more than most newer houses let in naturally.

I think all ovens will get soot, but you're probably getting more because without enough air, your fire can't get hot enough to burn it off. Once my oven gets going, I have no smoke coming out of the chimney at all. You can see the heat shimmer in the air, but not smoke. If you can get a good air supply going, you should have less soot building up and that ought to get rid of the problem.

Comment

How old is your oven and chimney...are they well cured?
How many times has it been used...and how often?
How long are you firing it up...is the chimney warming up enough?
How long is your chimney, what shape/diameter and what's it made of/lined with?

I take it the fan was put on after you were having problems with smoking in the kitchen.

The soot problem seems odd in that you are using seasoned hardwood and even using an exhaust fan but I'm thinking that the chimney could be poorly designed (too small?).

As a temporary fix to the soot problem on the floor I'd probably try and make some sort of container to catch the soot under the chimney at least keeping it off the floor.

Comment

Per Wiki: Soot (IPA: /ˈsʊt/) is a general term that refers to the black, impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres, charred wood, petroleum coke, etc. that may become airborne during pyrolysis and which are more properly identified as cokes or chars. The gas-phase soots contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).[1] The PAHs in soot are known mutagens and probable human carcinogens.[2] They are classified as a "known human carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).[3]

(I think I feel sick)
George

GJBingham
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Everyone makes mistakes. The trick is to make mistakes when nobody is looking.

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Comment

Thank you. My oven is only a few months old. The fan was put on right away. I put some pictures on the forum so you coul see the outside design. I gues I will try leaving a window open for more air but I think the problem could be the flue is too short. My oven only gets half white even when I heat it up for 2 hours.